Ohio seeks dismissal of suit on denial of rights to executed inmate

A lawsuit alleging an executed inmate endured needless pain and suffering should be dismissed, the state said in a court filing that argues the prisoner is the only one who could have argued a violation of constitutional rights.

The lawsuit also failed to identify specific acts that members of Ohio’s execution team committed that violated the constitution, the state said.

Condemned killer Dennis McGuire repeatedly gasped and snorted during his Jan. 16 execution, the longest — at 26 minutes — since Ohio resumed putting people to death in 1999.

McGuire’s family including his adult son sued 10 days later, seeking to have Ohio’s two-drug method declared unconstitutional as well as financial damages above $75,000.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction denies McGuire suffered but also changed its policy afterward to boost the dosages of execution drugs used in the future.

The family’s lawsuit should be dismissed because McGuire’s son, Dennis R. McGuire, “does not allege that any of his constitutional rights were violated,” the state said in Tuesday’s court filing.

The lawsuit also doesn’t provide evidence — beyond listing the individuals who carried out the execution — to support the family’s claims that state officials were responsible for the denial of federal rights, the state said.

Instead, the lawsuits presents “nothing more than legal conclusions that are unsupported by factual allegations,” according to the state.

Executions have been on hold in Ohio since McGuire’s death thanks to reprieves granted while the state updated its execution policies and in one case a decision by Gov. John Kasich to spare an inmate for reasons unrelated to McGuire.

The next execution is scheduled for Sept. 18, when Ronald Phillips is set to die for raping and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter in Akron in 1993.

Phillips’ execution was previously delayed by his unsuccessful request to be allowed to donate organs to family members.

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